Book review: The Nutmeg’s Curse

Parables for a Planet in Crisis by Amitav Ghosh

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/N/bo125517349.html

and

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2022-03-21/the-nutmegs-curse-review/

Letter from the Farm | Wild Geese and Tamed Farming – is it All for the Birds?

https://www.arc2020.eu/letter-from-the-farm-wild-geese-tamed-farming-and-diversification-on-pellworm-island/

How to Stop the AG-onizing Resistance to US Climate Policy

In the melee that marks the 2024 election year, it is easy to lose focus on down-ballot candidates that have as much—perhaps more—influence over US climate policy as the presidential contenders. Who are these influencers?

https://www.civilnotion.com/p/how-to-stop-the-ag-onizing-resistance

Oakland’s new school buses don’t just reduce pollution — they double as giant batteries. 

A new fleet of buses can send power back to the grid, stabilizing it instead of straining it.

https://grist.org/transportation/oakland-electric-school-buses-battery-storage/

Freedom and Responsibility: Why Earth’s Survival Depends on All of Us

Sunil Amrith on the Imperative Need to Understand the Long History of Human Impact on the Environment

https://lithub.com/freedom-and-responsibility-why-earths-survival-depends-on-all-of-us/

 

The Cost of Avoiding Microplastics

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/avoiding-microplastics-is-a-luxury/ar-AA1qRgMX

Why did Hurricane Helene cause so much rain? Here’s how much rain parts of NC received

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2024/09/28/helene-in-nc-busick-received-nearly-30-inches-of-rain/75428189007/

 

Physicist MV Ramana on the problem with nuclear power

Nuclear is costly, risky and slow, Ramana says. Why then, he asks in his new book, do governments still champion it?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/sep/04/mv-ramana-why-nuclear-power-not-solution-energy-needs

 

Enabling soil carbon at scale.

Measure soil carbon accurately, instantly, and affordably with Yard Stick technologies.

https://www.useyardstick.com/

 

Through beneficial, long term agreements with ranchers, farmers and California’s largest compost producers, CoolPath is positioned to accelerate carbon sequestration through the implementation of large-scale regenerative practices focusing on restoring degraded range and grassland soil health.

https://www.coolpath.com/

 

What if nature had a voice in legislation? A ‘planetary parliament’ could give it one. 

The Planetary Democrats, a European legal association, wants to create a global parliament that would represent the interests of the nonhuman world.

https://grist.org/looking-forward/what-if-nature-had-a-voice-in-legislation-a-planetary-parliament-could-give-it-one/

 

Earth Is on the Brink of Breaching a Seventh of Nine ‘Planetary Boundaries’ That Support Life

A new “health check” for our planet sounds an alarm bell on rising ocean acidification, which is driven by carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earth-is-on-the-brink-of-breaching-a-seventh-of-nine-planetary-boundaries-that-support-life-180985144/

 

Wind and solar farms power Great Britain’s grid to greenest ever summer.

Exclusive: Reliance on fossil fuels fell in August to less than one-fifth of all electricity generated across country.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/sep/06/wind-solar-farms-greenest-summer-ever-energy-generation

 

Electric school buses are the future we deserve

The largest mass transit system in the United States is overdue for an upgrade.

https://www.vox.com/climate/370006/school-bus-electric-transportation-ev

 

A huge park outside of Mexico City serves as a climate-adaptation model.

The park aims to restore the hydrological basin of the Valley of Mexico, provide greenspace for residents and combat climate change. Can it be an example for other projects? 

https://ensia.com/features/mexico-city-park-climate-adaptation-model/

Sunflowers use tiny movements to follow the Sun’s path throughout the day. 

Sunflowers make small moves to maximize their Sun exposure − physicists can model them to predict how they grow 

https://theconversation.com/sunflowers-make-small-moves-to-maximize-their-sun-exposure-physicists-can-model-them-to-predict-how-they-grow-237848

 

We help producers make sense of the economic incentives for soil health.

https://www.soilupside.org/

US oil company ran 1977 article predicting climate crisis could cause starvation.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/18/us-oil-marathon-petroleum-climate-change

Most US voters say plastics industry should be held responsible for recycling claims – report

Even a majority of Republicans support efforts to hold manufacturers accountable for allegedly deceptive claims.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/09/us-voters-distrust-plastics-manufacturers-claims

 

Even solar energy’s biggest fans are underestimating it

Solar’s extraordinary forecast-defying growth, explained

https://www.vox.com/climate/372852/solar-power-energy-growth-record-us-climate-china

 

The world’s largest wind-powered cargo ship just made its first delivery across the Atlantic.

 

A French startup is bringing sails back to the shipping industry.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91185144/the-worlds-largest-wind-powered-cargo-ship-just-made-its-first-delivery-across-the-atlantic

 

Inside the Anti-Climate Culture War Led by Jordan Peterson and Project 2025

The Canadian influencer and his allies in the U.S. religious right want people to see climate action as a ‘pseudo-religion.’ 

https://www.desmog.com/2024/09/09/inside-the-anti-climate-culture-war-led-by-jordan-peterson-and-project-2025/

 

Fossil fuel industry influence in higher education: A review and a research agenda

https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcc.904

 

Oil and gas communities are a blind spot in America’s climate and economic policies.

https://theconversation.com/oil-and-gas-communities-are-a-blind-spot-in-americas-climate-and-economic-policies-237947

 

The Future of Seaweed Farming in America

The outlook has seemed bright for this crop of multiple uses, including mitigating the impacts of climate change. But major obstacles remain for the seaweed industry.

https://civileats.com/2024/09/05/will-seaweeds-farming-fulfill-its-potential-as-a-climate-change-solution/

 

Ironic and Tragic: Technological Fundamentalism and Our Fear of Limits.

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-09-06/ironic-and-tragic-technological-fundamentalism-and-our-fear-of-limits/

 

Is still water better for you than sparkling water?

https://theconversation.com/is-still-water-better-for-you-than-sparkling-water-237125

 

Resisting fascism includes respecting our environment and fellow species

By Terry Tempest Williams

I do not think it is a leap to see our exploitive relationship with Earth as part of a centuries-long war against the environment

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/11/fascism-environment-climate-change

 

Can we grow the economy without making more useless junk?

We buy stuff. We throw it away. There’s a system to stop this toxic cycle.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/370626/consumerism-circular-economy-single-use-recycling-landfill-garbage

 

Under both Trump and Biden-Harris, US oil and gas production surged to record highs, despite very different energy goals.

https://theconversation.com/under-both-trump-and-biden-harris-us-oil-and-gas-production-surged-to-record-highs-despite-very-different-energy-goals-236859

 

Extreme weather and epidemics: How 75 people were hospitalized after eating contaminated lettuce.

A British study into a food-borne pathogen outbreak linked to heavy rains highlights the risk climate change poses to public health.

https://english.elpais.com/health/2024-09-12/extreme-weather-and-epidemics-how-75-people-were-hospitalized-after-eating-contaminated-lettuce.html

 

When a Glacial Dam Burst, an Alaskan Town Was Hit With a Sudden Flood.

From Alaska to Peru and the Himalayas, glacial lakes are suddenly breaking free and causing deaths and millions of dollars in damages.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/when-a-glacial-dam-burst-an-alaskan-town-was-hit-with-a-sudden-flood-180984967/

 

Amazon’s Shipping and Delivery Emissions Just Keep Going Up.

A new report attempts to calculate how much damage shipping our Amazon orders is doing to the planet and how badly the company is missing its own targets.

https://www.wired.com/story/amazons-shipping-and-delivery-emissions-just-keep-going-up/

 

How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58073295



Data center emissions probably 662% higher than big tech claims. Can it keep up the ruse?

Emissions from in-house data centers of Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple may be 7.62 times higher than official tally.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/15/data-center-gas-emissions-tech

 

Food is a huge source of methane emissions. Fixing that is no easy feat. 

At least two-thirds of methane emissions come from human activity, which is both a problem and an opportunity.

https://grist.org/article/food-is-a-huge-source-of-methane-emissions-fixing-that-is-no-easy-feat/

 

The Measure of a Rich Life: Wendell Berry on the Key to Mirth Under Hardship and Delight as a Force of Resistance to Consumerism.

https://www.themarginalian.org/2019/11/17/wendell-berry-hidden-wound/

 

America’s first ‘carbon positive’ hotel comes to Denver – but do its climate claims stack up?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/26/first-carbon-positive-hotel-populus-denver-climate-claims